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I'm despairing for my outdoor party coming up week after next. The weather is just so s**t, and more of the same on the way. I've discovered there is a band called S**t Weather, but their music is pretty poor, so I won't pain you with it.

I’ve often wondered why Dvorak’s piano concerto is not very popular. Once I was told that is due to the piano sheet music doesn’t require a great virtuosity, and for this reason many pianists refuse to include this concerto into their repertoires.

In any case, I think this concerto is full of beautiful melodies, with very expressive variations and developments. I have this recording, it’s absolutely gorgeous.

Good morning everyone! I am enjoying all of these wonderful postings. I realized I'll need to finishnlistening to all of them a bit later. Otherwise, I'll never get around to doing my own postings this morning.

Richard, the Gershwin pieces are marvelous. I don't think we've had any Gershwin posted here. It also reminded me of a French composer I understand admired Gershwin's music, Maurice Ravel.

I don't even remember what I was originally researching when I came across this wonderful music by Italian composer, Francesco Geminiani. Here is "Concerto Grosso, Opus 3, No. 3 in E Minor." It is performed by the King's Consort.

I'm going to have to reboot the old 'puter before I can listen to any more - it's running on empty at the moment...

I've just spent another hour on the John Blow Ground. Boy is it challenging (for me)... And then ordered a CD replacement (of old vinyl) for Faure's Requiem, and for his Pelleas et Melisande and the Masques et Bergamasques suite. I've always loved these so much, so it makes sense having them on CD.

The John Blow Ground (G minor) is the first of the two in this recording by Timothy Roberts, which illustrates the use of RH rubato in early Baroque keyboard:

(I think I'll have to worry about the RH rubato once I've got all the ornaments at sorted :-/)

You'll notice that the LH has a passacaglia pattern, with a series of descending notes that then repeat throughout the piece. Only - unlike Purcell's grounds - Blow does not exactly repeat in the bass, but has variations in the LH too.

I thought maybe you didn't like us anymore, Rossy. Maybe you think we've strayed too far from the original "Royalist" topic. I guess I have because I don't know what a Royalist is! If you could describe one in great detail, I'll see if I can find any American examples.

Is Wayne with you? I noticed it has been some months since he's been here. I hope all is well on his end.

Richard, I especially like Gershwin's Prelude II. I'd love to be able to play it.

VegasE -- I first saw the Glass orchestra on Saturday Night Live years ago. I wish I could remember what they played because it was beautiful.

Recaredo, I'd not heard that Dvorak either. Now I'll have to find some more to hear -- that was really, really beautiful. Is he the one who wrote the New World Symphony (or something like that). I heard that performed by a local orchestra last year I think.

PJ -- I have always avoided Andre Rieu on PBS (his shows will be on nightly for days on end it seems) but wow, that Amazing Grace was just wonderful. Was that maybe an Irish Tin Whistle? And I'm the only one I know who loves bagpipes and combined with an orchestra, well, it just sent chills down my back!

Griffin, I love all your music. I think we grew up in the same era or else you're a young Old Soul. I think we might be soulmates. Don't tell anyone, can we just keep it our secret?

Ok, gotta get back to work now. I just wanted to let everyone know how much I've enjoyed your music this weekend.

Good morning everyone! I'm also late getting back to you on all of those fantastic Sunday postings. I'm still listening to them, and enjoying everything I've heard so far. Rossy, it's good to see you are back.

I'm still trying to catch on many things that had to be delayed because of the cough that still hasn't completely gone away. However, it has gotten much better and my energy is almost back to 100 percent!

Sandy, I am definitely a "Child of the 60s". I only have time for one posting today. If you enjoy the tunes I post, this one will be quite familiar to you. It's certainly from my growing up years!

A very big heartfelt thank you to all whom have expressed concern at my recent absence.

I feel it only fair and proper and fitting to offer a truthfull yet highly detailed account of my recent whereabouts and will therefore break the confidence of the cult of "Woo Woo" to explain just what happened.

As usual I was just minding my own business and meandering through life in my customery haphazard way when all of a sudden and without warning I was abducted by the cult of "Woo Woo"

I suppose a little background information on the woo woo cult may be enlightening to those not in the know ( no need to feel insecure about your inteligence levels, as only thirteen people in the whole universe know everything about the woo woo cult and six of those folk are now undergoing intense psychological tests and will be on psychotropic medication for the rest of their limited life)

Anyways, the woo woo cult is a sort of mixture of everything, the members use dowsing rods to locate vunerable potential new recruits, and then pendulems to subdue the target victim into a coma for transportation to Hungary where they are locked behind a massive medieval wooden fortress for a lengthy indoctrination process.

The first thing the new recruit/ victim experiences is being waken at dawn by folk hanging various crystals over them and chanting alleged healing incantations in an attempt to drive out all the anxieties and bad karma you have accrued in your life through not being a perfect individual, also if you have any hurt in you or pain the quartz crystal soaks it up and stores it up untill it can be released into a recyclable toilet roll middle taped at the ends with symbols and charms to keep it from harming dwarves.

You are not allowed tea OR coffee, instead you are given "Homeopathic tea" What is this? i hear you ask.

well the woo woo folk run a big bath of water that they put you in with a single tea bag, and you are meant to imbibe the tea through your skin in a homepathic way, I hated it and can honestly say Homeopathic tea is not for me, as you may imagine, i complained bitterly and in a way that jeesus would not like, and as a result i got beaten by the elders.

All though the cult burns incense all day long to gain access to a higher source of knowledge, I personally was made to smoke outside which irked me when it as raining, and it rains a lot in Hungary allmost all of the time. when i suggested this may be gods punishment I was beaten again with ritual candles which hurt as they are made of enviromentally friendly materials which also make it difficult for outsiders to ridicule the cult as they can claim "green" and "PC" as evidence of their legitimacy.

In music they use only a three note scale which is much much worse than bagpipe music which boasts another two (allthough that doesnt really help .)

Anyways the notes are F# , Gb, and Abb, so as you may imagine again, as this is played constantly during the indoctrination process at volume , one soon begins to lose the will to live and becomes more receptive to the demands of the woo woo cult.

Tommorrow,I will explain the aims of the cult and how the secretive all knowing leader who is website shy has plans to detune everyone from concert pitch to around A=320 cycle per second so that they cannot vibrate properly any more, or use vibrating equipment in their workplace or even personal private life, nuff said there.

Also I will explain how a group from this cult allmost fooled me by using honey trap girls that emerged from toilets unexpectedly and complimented my physical appearence in a seduction attempt.

And finally how I was rescued by vegetarian lesbians and fed bacon.

if, anyone is interested of course.

Rise like lions after slumber,in unvanquishable number. Shake your chains to earth like dewwhich in sleep has fallen on you. Ye are many,they are few. Shelley